Criminal Justice & Criminology

Criminal Justice & Criminology

CJ 409/509: A Goth Primer for Juvenile Justice Professionals Fall 2014 3.0

Course Number & Title Semester/Year Credits

Dr. Gordon A. Crews Phone: 304.696.3083 (Voice Mail) Office: SH 734 Email:

Professor

We will be meeting in SMITH HALL 154, big auditorium!!!!

Class Hours, Days, & Room:

Office Hours & Days: Tuesday & Thursday 9:00 to 11:00am and 9:00 to 1:00pm

REQUIRED TEXT: There is no required text for this course (Use your money for copies, research materials, gas, weapons, bail, and other items you may need!).

COURSE DESCRIPTION: The topic for this course is an examination of the possible influence that youth involvement in alternative belief systems and practices may have upon their eventual violent, negative, criminal, and/or anti-social behavior. Special focus will be on proper responses to youth involved in the Goth, Vampire, Satanic, Wiccan, and other Occult-style lifestyles. An essential part of this focus will be an examination of the concept of “legend tripping” which involves inherently delinquent juvenile activities at geographic sites associated with some tragic event, rumored to be supernatural or related to the occult. “Satanic tourism” is a type of legend tripping characterized by juvenile involvement in pseudo-Satanic/occult behavior, such as drawing pentagrams, writing epithets, and burning candles. A juvenile may visit a geographic location such as an abandoned church, historic graveyard, or reputedly “haunted” site, and engage in mischievous, destructive, or “ritualistic” behaviors as “rites of passage.” These activities, which often are relatively harmless and conducted primarily for juvenile thrills, may be perceived by law enforcement, educator, parents, and the larger community as threatening and dangerous. A special presentation of photos and stories of legend trip sites and associated juvenile delinquency across the country will be given. This course will also involve actual field research where students investigate their own legend trip site and/or behavior.

COURSE LEARNING OBJECTIVES MATRIX

GRADING SCALE: A = 90 – 100 B = 80 – 89 C = 70 – 79 D = 60 – 69 F = 59 and below

EVALUATION OF LEARNER OBJECTIVES/COURSE REQUIREMENTS (Grades will be based on the following requirements):

·  SITE PORTFOLIO (300 points): Students will be required to work in teams and develop a “Site Portfolio”. See attached information.

·  SITE PRESENTATION (200 points): Students will be required to participate in a 20-30 minute presentation on their team’s site. See attached information.

·  INTERNATIONAL GOTH PORTFOLIO (100 points/Graduate Students Only): Each graduate student will be required to develop a brief International Goth Portfolio. See attached information.

·  FINAL (300/200 points): A final will be given on November 9, 2014. This exam will consist of questions developed from lectures and student lectures given since the beginning of the course!

COURSE OUTLINE: The below outline is subject to change to meet the needs of the class.

• Introduction to Course

• “Goth: The Game”

SITE PORTFOLIO (See Investigation Report form at the end of syllabus)

Each student will be required to serve on a team of at least two members to research and document AT LEAST one “Legend Trip” site. The documentation must be presented to the instructor no later than NOVEMBER 8, 2014 in the following fashion:

Site Portfolio must consist of the following (must be placed neatly in an ACCO type file folder):

1.  Title page (listing the name of the student and site location information)

2.  A photo of yourself while at one of these sites

3.  All appropriate forms & interviews filled out and in order (will be given out in class)

4.  All information pertaining to the site neatly displayed so that it is easy to read (examples will be given in class)

5.  All photographic documentation (depending on the type of site or number of sites ~ it is generally expected that 10 to 12 photos should be taken at each site)

6.  An addendum of any addition information of interest relating to the site

7.  A two page typed written brief discussion of what you found most interesting about this research

The purpose of this project is to gather information from a number of resources through actual field research.

SITE PRESENTATION

Each student team will be required to give a 20-minute presentation to the class based on the findings of their research. This presentation should include the following at a minimum:

1.  An overview of the site(s) documented

2.  A discussion of the history associated with the site(s)

3.  A discussion of the current problems originating from the site(s)

4.  A discussion of interviews with law enforcement & locals familiar with the site(s)

5.  A presentation of the photos collected

6.  Personal comments on your experiences in doing this project

RESEARCH AND CLASS PARTICIPATION

Each student will be required to participate fully in every aspect of this course. You will be working in at least “pairs” but that is for safety for the most part. Class participation includes coming to all scheduled classes. You must plan on working 100% with your partner to make sure that you and your partner complete the assignments of this class. Also, you must have all sites documented, portfolio developed, and photographs developed by date of presentation.

Due to the short timeline on this course ~ there will be no make-ups on any part of the course … not enough time. If any of this seems too much for you, it is your responsibility to drop the course immediately.

INTERNATIONAL GOTH PORTFOLIO (Required for Graduate Students Only!)

Here is a chance to be used, yet become famous! I am currently working on a new text for Taylor and Francis entitled, “Youth Involvement in Alternative Subcultures, Groups, Belief Systems, and Lifestyles: Examining International Police and Societal Response.” This will be the first of its kind in that there is currently no comprehensive book examining how youth involved in such things as Goth and so forth, are treated and dealt with around the world.

I have never involved students in my publications before, but thought this would be fun and give all of you some exposure out there. Those that participate will be acknowledged and referenced fully as a contributor in this manuscript (ASAP).

Here is the very basic synopsis of the work:

This text comparatively examines relationships in the United States, Eastern and Central Europe, Scandinavia, and parts of the Middle East among juvenile violence, "heavy metal" music, substance abuse, and participation in occult and "alternative" youth groups (e.g., Wicca, Satanism, vampirism, Goth). We trace the movement of certain groups, behaviors, and preferences (e.g., heavy metal music, Black Circles) and make a correlation between some of these movements and an increase in youth violence and substance abuse in certain countries. The authors use results from surveys and participant observations in the U.S., Copenhagen, Germany, the Netherlands, & the Middle East (Egypt & Turkey) that indicate, however, that mere participation in these groups and lifestyles may not be directly related to violence and other problems such as substance abuse. Instead, societal and police response may contribute to feelings among the youth of being ostracized and socially isolated, which may, in turn, contribute to the development of violence and other anti-social behaviors. We provide suggestions for police and societal responses that may alleviate the potential for relatively harmless youth participation in these groups and lifestyles to escalate into something more threatening and harmful, both for society and for the involved youth.

My thoughts are that each graduate student would pick one country in the world (anywhere except the United States) and develop a portfolio of material dealing with what is going on in these areas involving youth. You will need to focus on the angle that is being presented above as you collect information. We will discuss format further, but I do NOT want 25 page papers, instead I want real material that you can find (HOWEVER you can find it!).

Crews’ Nine Academic Rules of the Earth

1.  Classroom Conduct:

·  As a general rule, I, 1) show up for class, 2) arrive on time, 3) am semi-prepared, 4) sober/conscious, 5) stay off my cell phone, 6) am interested in the topic of the day, and 7) STAY THE ENTIRE TIME ~ I expect the same of you!!!!

·  All cell phones must be turned off and put away (out of view) at the commencement of class, with the exception of emergency service personnel. Cell phones are disruptive not only to me, but your fellow students, so please be courteous. You will receive only one warning if your cell phone goes off in class, or if I catch you playing with it during class.

·  You may NOT eat during class. This means food of any kind (chips, sandwiches, candy, etc.). However, drinks are permitted (non-alcoholic of course). Also, you should not be working on anything not related to this class once class commences (this includes reading, copying other’s notes, knitting, playing games on your cell phone, etc.).

·  Do NOT leave the classroom once class has started, unless it is an absolute emergency or you have notified me before class that you will be leaving. You should use the restroom, get a drink of water, and make a phone call, etc. before class starts.